Sheet material and method of treating the same.



J. J. BYERS.

SHEET MATERIAL AND METHOD OF TREATING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10. 19W.

11,325,075. Patented De'c.16,.1919.

I'exi-He. or lerxkher +mu+ed uH-h cellulose der nIoA-TVS ol mying oi'l;

Fri-He o lea'l-hel Invew'iioiu Joseph J 133 era,

v UNI ED s'ra'rns PATN JOSEPH J. BYERS, 0F BROQKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGINOIL TO LPRQDUCTS SYNDI- GATE, INC., 035 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

' SHEET MATERIAL AND METHODQOF TREATING run sAniu.

Specification of Letters Patent, Patentgd Dec, 16, 1919,

Application filed January 10, 191?. Serial No. 14156? T 0 all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that l, JOSEPH J. Brnns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brookline, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented Improvements in Sheet Materials and Methods of Treating the Same, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates tothe art diiapplying a sheet or layer of material to another, for the purpose of imparting thereto certain desirable qualities, as well as to the improved product obtained by said method. The invention is applicable to any sheet material, but the invention contemplates more particularly the application thereof to teatile or other fibrous materials, such as leather for example, at least one ofthe sheets having preferably been treated so as to impart thereto wear-resisting and other advantageous qualities,

The'. invention Wlll' best be understood from the following description, in

connection with the accompanying drawing, of one illustrative product of my improved method, and of the best mode or manner known tome for practising such method, while its scope Wlli be more particularly pointed out in theappended claims,

The accompanying drawing shows one improved product embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawin the sheet of material 1 therein illustrated is given merely as an example or any textile or other fibrous material, such as leather for example, to

which it is desired to apply another wearreceiving sheet p The outer or wear-receiving sheet will preferably be treated to render the same water-repellent and highly wear-resisting, and is then'so applied to the other sheet 1 as to constitute a homogeneous,wear-resisting layer.

Any suitable material may be taken as a basis for the wear-receiving sheet 2, but preferably this will be of spine fibrous material such as a textile fabric or leather.

Certain materials, such as ordinary grades of chrome-tanned leather for example,

Wl1ich,'owing to their porosity, lack of body and tendency to stretch when moist are not adapted for certain uses where wearresisting or other special qualities are re cellulose to one gallon of solvent may be em ,bath may be prepared of sutlicient volume with suitably controlled heating means so as to ma1nta1n the bath at a'suitable temperature.

quii'ed, will, when treated by my process,

become suitable, for such uses. v

The sheet material 2 which is to constitute the Wear-receiving sheet or member is preferabiy treated with a cement-like substanceconsisting of or including acellulose derives tive insolution and containing a quantity of non-oxidizing oil, This treatment is carried out in such a manner as to impregnate thematerial throughout with the oil-containing cement, This cement-like substance, containing a cellulose derivative and a nonoxidizing oil, will hereinafter be referred to briefly as the cement The materials composing the cement and the proportions in which they are mixed may be varied within wide limits, A suitable cement, for example, may be prepared by dissolving some cellulose derivative, a soluble nitrocellulose for example, in a suitable solvent, which may be acetone and I alcohol in equal parts; it, for illustration,

and proportion to the mass of the material to be treated to maintain the material hm mersed for the requiredtime thorough; impregnate it without impairing the fluidity of the bath or efi ectiveness of the treatment. The tank or other receptacle employed for." i the bath'is closed to prevent any substantia evaporation of the solvent during the treatment of the material and is also. provided roe , The temperature of thebath is preferably maintained at a point above the normal tern perature of the air butvbelow that which would rapidly evaporate the solventor impair the material to be treated. In the treatment of leatherwith a cement constituted as described and containing the stated amount of castor oil, the temperature should be preferably less thanl50 F. Good results are obtained with temperatures. varying from 125 to 130 F.

Porous materials such as leather usually hold absorbed more or less hygroscopic moisture. To facilitate the impregnation of l the material with cement, it is preferable to remove substantially. all water and hygroscopic moisture from the material before its treatment. This may be accomplished in any suitable or desirable manner, but, in the case of leather, a simple method is to expose thematerial to a suitable drying temperature for a period long enough to drive out 15 the moisture. The time and temperature required will differ for difierent materials and for different masses of the same material. In the case of leather, for example, the leathermay be hung or spread over night in a drying room or a drying oven-at a tem- 4 perature of from 120 to 150" F. .In the case of some textile fabrics or thin sheet material, the material may be prepared'for immersion by passing the same slowly through a drying room or'drying apparatus.

Preferably. also the material should be handledand the treatment carried out in a room Where the air has a low humidity, so

that in passing from the drying operation to the immersion, the materi may have no opportunity to absorb or collect any substantial or detrimental amount of moisture.

By expelling substantially all themoisture in the leather or other material, and immersing it }while in a dry state, the permeationor impregnation of the material is times be sufficient.

xcomes thoroughly impregnated with the cement. The material'treated by this method will meable material, a fewv minutes will some-' The immersion is continued for an appreciable period, sufliciently prolonged toimpregnate the material throughout. In the presence of heat and immersed in the solution, the material be be thoroughly impregnated throughout/as distinguished from a'. mere surfacecoating or a coating which has a mere anchorage or impregnation of limited depth.- -Leather thus treated acquires the property of repelling water, has great durability and density and a highdegree of flexibility;

' in respect to t Furthermore, the water-repellent properties and flexibility are long continuing,

"which 'I attribute to the fact that the oil which, is sealed into the fibers or particles by thecement cannot be washed out by'exposure to moisture. When ordinary leather becomes wet and isthereafter dried by ex- -posure to heat, it loses its softness and flexi bility, becomes dry and hard andcracks very.

readily. This is largely due to the fact that the oil, soap or grease contained in the leather has been in part washed out by the wetting of the leather and in partdriven out by the subsequent application of heat for drying the leather. Leather treated by my present'method and which has become damp can be readily dried by the application of heat without becoming hard or stifi and without losing its flexibility and water- -repellent properties, which I also attribute to the factthat the oil is sealed into the individual fibers or particles by the cement, and cannot be driven out by the heat used to dry the leather. q

It will thus beseen that leather treated by my process appears to have an oil-flexed property which is substantially permanent,

while the oil commingled with the cement throughout the body gives it a high degree of permanent flexibility andwaterrepellent property. v 1 t i After removing the material from the bath, it is dried, the efiect'of this is apparentlyto unite the'fi bers or particles intoa. homogeneous mass, leaving the oil sealed in the particles or fibers and protected by the cement, which as I-believe, incases them and binds them together throughout.

The impregnated sheet'material need not necessarily be-absolutely dry but the drying should be suflicient to set the cement at or near the surface, and it is then ready to be applied to other material, to serve, forexample, as a we r-receiving member or layer lig'latter. vThis will preferably be by cementing itthereto. "Where the material treated in accordance withmy process is applied directly to another material, for

example leather or other fibrous material which has not been so treated, that face of the latter to which my treated material is to be applied will preferably be roughened up, so as to open u the fibers and permit the penetration of t ecement solution usedto a sufiicient depth tosecure a firm anchorage.

. As an illustrative method of applying a fibrous material, leather for example, treated by my above-described process, to material, either. leather or other fibrous material not so treated, the following may serve: One surface of the. untreated material having been. roughened as above stated, the same is covered with a cementasolution, and a similar solution is applied to one face of the cement-impregnated material: Preferably both materials should be warmand dry before application of the cement and the operation should preferably be carried out in-a dry atmosphere. The cement employed for this coating is preferably a cement which contains a cellulose derivative and oil, and may be of the same nature as the cement used for impregnating the cement-impregnated, material. Preferably, however, it will be heavier or more concentrated than that cement, such, for example, as might be obtained by using one half or (less of the solvent contained in the cement used for impregnation' The coating thus applied to the surfaces to be united serves to fill the surfaces and to lay the nap or surface fibers. This coating is not merely anchored to the surface of the impregnated material but appears to become dissolved into and united with the homogeneous cemented mass of the material and becomes a part thereof.

When the coating. thus applied to the two surfaces to be unlted has dried, one of said surfaces is given another coating of adhesive cement, preferably the same as that used for impregnation, and' while thiscoating of cement is'still fluid, these two surfaces are applied to each other and are. subjected to a suitable even pressure throughout, this pressure being preferably maintained until, the cement is set. It is sometimes preferable to apply the solventused to dissolve the cement, in place of this last coat of adhesive cement, the solvent thus applied apparently suliicing to render the previous coating of cement sufliciently soft and tacky, firmly'to unitethe layers. Heat applied in congunc- 40" sure may be removed and the resultant product allowed thoroughly to dry, when tion with pressure will cond-uce to the evaporation of the solvent and the setting of the cement. When the cement is set, the presthe two materials will be found to be perflat plates in a stationary press, so con structed that the plates will exert a substantially uniform continued pressure simultaneously on all parts of the material, or a .considerable area thereof, for a more. or less prolonged interval, or until the cement is,

forrnwith both of these a homogeneous set, will in general be found more satisfactory. The pressure as applied will preferably be yielding; it serves to condense and compact the cement-impregnated fibers of the material.

, Instead of uniting a cement-impregnated material with one not cement-impregnated, two cement-impregnated materials may be united by following the same mode of procedure above described, excepting thatin such case, neither of the surfaces to be united will be roughened before applying thereto the preliminary cement coatings.

In all cases both materials to be united will-preferably be warm and dry before the adhesive coat of cement for uniting them is ap lied, and as already stated the operation wil preferably be carried out in a dry atmosphere.

It will be apparent that any number of pieces or sheets 9f material may be united as described, allof said pieces or sheets being cementdmpregnated or one 'or more being cement-impregnated sheets or pieces, and one or more not. It will also be apparent that-the alternative arrangement of the sheets or layers of material may vary as best suited tothe purpose for which the resultant product is to be used, the cementimpregnated pieces 01* sheets and those not impregnated alternating either regularly or irregularly. Thus, where more than two pieces or sheets or layers. of material are united, one or more that are not cementimpregnated may be embraced between two or more cement-impregnated ones, or vice versa, or two or more nonimpregnated pieces or sheets or layers may be provided with a single outer impregnated piece, layer or sheet as a wear-receiving. member, for

example. v It will alsobe apparent that where more than two layers of pieces of material are united in accordance with my process, they may .be united singly, or simultaneously in any numbers desired, it being borne in mind that where an impregnated piece is united to one that is not impregnated, as also where two unimpregnated pieces are united directly, the surface .or surfaces of the unimpregnated piece or pieces to which the layer of cement'is applied should preferably 1 first be roughened.

The cement. layer 3 by. which the cement impregnated pieces or sheets of material are" united appears to unite with the cement which permeates said pieces or sheets and forms therewith a homogeneous body. In the same manner the cement that unites a cement-impregnated piece or sheet of material to one that is not so impregnated appears to unite so intimately with the fibers of the non-impregnated piece or sheet as well as with the cement which permeates thecement-impregnated piece or sheet as to body. The adhesive layer of cementalso acquires the same flexibility and water} its materialthat it unites, so that there appears proof.

to be an absence of wear producin friction between said pieces. The pieces materlal and the cement by which they are united and permeated appear to become one homogeneous mass that flexes as a single-piece. The adhesive layer between the IIJIBCGS or sheets renders the resultant product Water- Certain fibrous materials, such as certain kinds of leather, chrome-tanned. or other 11- per leather, for example, which lack resi iency and-have a tendency to stretch, be-

come unstretchable and gain resiliency fposes not heretoforepossible, and as equal .of the leather becomes so charged with the product flexible.

when treated by my process, which is a to which my product may be applied. It will thus be seen that by myproce'ss, greater durability, toughness, compactness may be imparted to leather or similar fibrous materials, than that possessed thereby before treatment. Furthermore, the leather orother fibrous material produced by this process is cement and oil-impregnated and characterized throughout by a fibrous,

cellular structure, the .size and number of the air cells depending in part on the extent to which the condensing process has been' carried out, the process thus rendering the material a substantially and; permanently waterrepellent, while imparting thereto some degree of porosity, so that it possesses an advantage over material of other nonporous, Water-repellent or water-proof substances, such for example as rubber. Apparently the fibers become incased with the cement after the material has been immersed, without necessarily wholly fillingthe interstices between the fibers or wholly expellin the air fromwithin the same.

. It wil thus be seen that by my process,-

durability,

toughness, compactness. and water-repellent qualities may be imparted to cheap or inferior grades of leather so as to make them .available for uses and puror better substitutes for leather of more expensive grades. -Thus, in the case of chrome-tanned leather for example, the normally porous and relatively loose structure cement that the leather has its fibrous struc-; ture com acted into a homogeneous, cementbound, brous body. The cement adds to theinitial strength of the union of the fibers, but because of the oil still leaves the v strength to the strength of the fibers, pro- -ducing a homogeneous, compacted body which'can be .worked in substantially the same manner as ordinary vegetable-tanned sole leather,

Leather treated by my'processwill buff andburnish' to the" samehigh degree as any otherleather and willtake quite as perfect The cement also adds its,

a finish, upon its surfaces or edges, when treated by any usual-burnishing or finishing process, and will retain that finish.

It will be understood that the terms sheet and sheet material used in the specification and claims, are used in their broad and comprehenslve sense, as including a for example any material ,such as leather,

felt, or an textile, woven, or other permeable material in the web or piece.

It has been found that in some cases it is preferable to subject the leather to a degreasing process, in order to-remove therefrom any excessive or undesirable oil or grease, or soap, before treating the leather by my process. Any usual or well-known 'degreasing process maybe employed for this 1 purpose, such for example as immersing the leather for the required length of time in a bath of naphtha or benzin or other suitable agent. In the case of textile fabrics the best results are obtained with unsized materials.

While I have herein described one illustrative example of my improved product and the several steps by which one form of my product may be carried out, it is to be understood that my invention isifiot limited tothe exact details" specified or any of them,

but that these may be varied within wide limits without exceeding the true scope of my invention which is definitely set forth by the claims. 7

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

' 1; The method of a plying a sheet of I leather or other permea le or fibrous material to another sheet of material, which is characterized by dryingsaid sheets; impregnating one throughout with a cement containing a cellulose derivative and a nonoxidizing oil, by immersing it in a heated 'bath containing said cement in solution; applying to the surfaces of said sheets, by which they are to be united a coating of cement also containing a cellulose derivative and a non-oxidizing oil; allowing said coat- -ings to dry; applying to one of *said surfaces a coating of'adhesive cement; superimposing said surfaces while this coating of cement isstill tacky; and compacting-and cementing. saidsheets together y the application of pressure.

2. The method of applying a sheet of leather or other permeable or fibrous mate- Ill rial to another which is characterized by.

drying said sheets; impregnating them lulose derivative and a non-oxidizingoil, by immersing them in a heated bath contain ingsaid cementin solution; applying to one surface of said sheets a" coating of cement also containing a cellulose deriva- ,tive and a non-oxidizing oll; allowmg said coatings to dry, applying to one of said.

throughout with acement comprising a cel- I cement-coated surfaces a ,coat of adhesive cement; superimposing said surfaces while this coating is still tacky; and compacting v and cementing said sheets together by the application of pressure. 4

3. The method of applying a sheet of leather or other permeable or fibrous material to another sheet of material, which is characterized by degreasing the sheet to be applied; drying said sheets; impregnating one throughout with a cement containing a cellulose derivative and a non-oxidizing oil, by immersing it in' a heated bath containing said cement in solution; applying to the surfaces of said sheets, by which they are to be united, a coating of cement also containing. a cellulose derivative and a nonoxidizing oil; allowing said coatings to dry; applyingto one of said surfaces a coating of adheswe cement; superimposing said surfaces while thisxcoating of cement is still tacky; and compacting and: cementing said sheets together by the application of pres- 4. As a new article of manufacture a sheet of leather or other material having applied thereto a water-repellent, wear-re s1sting member, comprising a sheet orlayer of leather or other fibrous or permeable 1 cement'containing a cellulose derivative and a non-oxidizing oil, and havingits fibrous structure compacted into a cement-bound flexible body and being cemented to said first-named sheet by an adhesive cement.

6. As a new article of manufacture asheet of leather or other material having applied thereto a water-repellent, wear-re sisting member, comprising a sheet or. layer of leather or other fibrous or permeable material, impregnated throughout with a cement containing a cellulose derivative and a non-oxidizing oil and cemented to the first-named sheet by an adhesive cement containing similar materials to that used to impregnate said sheet.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

. JOSEPH J. BYERS. 

